Republic Knuckles - Are they worth it?

[Roxtar]

So I'm 14 levels into my first FFXI experience. I am a monk and have done quite a bit of research on my job. On pretty much every monk guide I have read, it is highly recommended to put some time in to farm and buy a pair of Republic Knuckles at level 15. It seems to me that maybe Republic Knuckles are a bit overrated and there might be some better options. On my Fenrir server, I can buy Republic Knuckles at the AH for roughly 30k, and spend time screening the AH because one gets put on about every 5 days. Or, I can buy a pair fo Kingdom Cestis for roughly 10k and purchase them right away.

Kingdom Cestis - Damage +4 Delay +33 Vs. Fire +2 Attack +3 Accuracy +3

Republic Knuckles - Damage +6 Delay +76 HP +3 MP +3 Attack +3 Accuracy +2

So, does the additional 2 damage and 3 HP of the Republic Knuckles, as compared to the additional 1 accuracy and the much better delay of the Cestis, make Republic Knuckles really that much better? I'm having a tough decision here and any advice is appreciated.

[Arkadya]

Yes.

[Laeus]

The Republic Knuckles are the best for that level, but the Kingdom Cesti are very good as well. And, no, the former do not cost three times as much as the latter because they're that much better -- it's just because they are HQ+ and are, once again, the "best".

You'll do just fine with the Kingdom Cesti.

[frogfromsaturn]

I would say get the Republic Knuckles coz weapon damage makes more of a difference to your attacks.

And don't be fooled by the low delay, at low levels I think the base delay for H2H is anyway a bit long. So the difference between +33 and +76 isn't really that much. *Imagine if the base delay is like 300 there really isn't much difference between 333 and 376. Even if there is a slight difference in the long run, the increase in damage will still outweigh it.

The +1 Accuracy.. well its a good thing but you don't really need it unless you miss often. And even if you do need accuracy i'd say get the battle gloves. They will last you a long time, it has for me.

Disclaimer :p
*I'm asking to imagine at low level there is 300 base delay. I'm probably wrong on the exact value but I'm quite sure it is high enough to make my point valid.

[Baramunk]

Personally I didn't think about how the difference in delay wouldn't be such a big deal, and I bought the Kingdom Cesti. I've used them all the way to 32 when I got Impact Knuckles. Are the Kingdom the best? No, like mentioned above the Republic ones are, however the question is: Are they worth it? I would have to say if the Republic are 3x the cost of the Kingdom cesti, go with the latter. It's not worth the extra 20k to get something that isn't THAT much better, and certainly isn't all too critical at the early levels. That 20k would be more useful in saving for the more expensive items you'll be seeing as you near 30-40.

[frogfromsaturn]

Hmm.. you have a point there..
Another alternative is
Bastokan Knuckles - Damage +5 Delay +86 HP +2 MP +2 Attack +3 Accuracy +2

It is the normal version of HQ Republic Knuckles so price should be quite low. Kingdom Cesti too is a HQ synth. It'll probably be difference of a few thousand and if you still can't decide go for looks ^^ Still can't be sure since prices vary on diferent servers.

[Lamentation]

Bastokan kunckles on ramuh about 3k Republican knuckles about 15-25k Yeah, worth the saveings imo

[Roxtar]

Well, it's a 10k - 30k difference on Fenrir. I've spend lots of time already farming so I can have top notch equipment, which includes Courage Rings at 10k a peice. I figure, I've done this much already, might as well not stop now. I'm going to farm for the Republics.

The hard part is finding a pair in the AH.

[Darkedge]

When I hit 14, I spent..
5K Battle Gloves
18K Courage Ring
18K Courage Ring
22K Republic Knuckles

I was subless, and my damage output made me tank in dunes. I hate paying for monk, lol...

[Effen]

The question shouldn't be are they worth it, but rather, if you want to farm enough gil to pay for them at this moment. The gil you pay for it is not disposable, when you buy something else, you get it back by selling them. They are hands down the best weapon at that level. Now the question is if you want to be the best you are capable of, are do you just wish to "get by".

Through out your monk career, there will be a lot of these options. And if you think farming 30k is tough, then I suggest you to go with another job because the road ahead is much steeper and it only gets worse for a monk.

There's a "Monk's life" quote from Resistance in my FAQ, it's a pretty good read if you want to know about farming as a monk.

[frogfromsaturn]

Made me feel all warm inside when I read the quote from Resistance heh

Off to farm!!

[Roxtar]

Originally posted by Effen

There's a "Monk's life" quote from Resistance in my FAQ, it's a pretty good read if you want to know about farming as a monk.

I did, and it suggests a monk will need to farm 12 mil worth of gil throughout his lifetime to always have top notch gear. Is this an accurate statement?

[Effen]

Depends how you define "top notch". If you want to be the best you could be, that won't be enough as I sold my Scorpian harness +1 for 18M alone recently on Leviathan. But with 12M, you will be able to get most of the top tier equipment like cross counter, kote/palla bracelets, sniper's ring, scorpian harness, spectacles...

[Sirch]

When I first got level 15 I tried out the Kingdom Cesti for 15k since there were no Republic Knucks in stock at the time.

I liked the Cesti, they did nice damage for that level, and with combination with my balance rings, I was outdamaging the DRKs in my party with one hand.

Then I got back to Bastok and baught the Republic Knucks for 25k, I went back to dunes, I had to change some of my macros around for the added dalay, but not big deal.

When I got to dunes, I saw my damage go up even more, so the point is, if you want the VERY best damage, you might as well go for Republic, if you want "eh" damage, go with the Cesti, but remember, There's only a select few of good Cesti out there.

[Archibaldcrane]

Meh. You level up so fast in the teens with a good party that the time spent farming (unless you have a higher job that can do said farming much quicker) is not worth it, IMO. If you spend the time you would've spent farming for uber equip and just level with decent equip instead, you'll probably outlevel alot of the stuff you would've bought anyway. However, I understand the allure of always having the best stuff, and at 30+ I'm all for it. I just try to get through the low levels with any job as quickly as possible, and save my best for when the parties start getting competent.